High School Girls' Basketball: Roncalli falls to Groton

April 03, 2007

By American News Sports Staff GROTON - It has been feast or famine for the Aberdeen Roncalli girls' basketball team this season and Thursday night the Cavaliers went hungry. Less than two weeks after scoring 27 points in a single quarter, Roncalli was held to a season-low 24 points in a 47-24 Northeast Conference girls' basketball setback to Groton. "We took good shots. We took shots that we needed to take. It was just one of those nights," said Roncalli coach Dena Sievers. How bad did things get for the Cavaliers? Roncalli managed to make just one basket in the entire second half and hit just six of 44 field-goal attempts on the evening for a chilly 13 percent. "We just struggled offensively," Sievers said. "Give Groton some credit. They put some pressure on us defensively." The game was tied at 5-5 before the Tigers reeled off 13 straight points to take control. To compound matters for Roncalli, center Jenn Thares went down with a knee injury shortly thereafter, leaving the Cavaliers with a huge void in the middle. It did not take long for Groton to exploit that absence. The Tigers repeatedly worked the ball inside to their center Lauren Wheeting, who responded with a game-high 23 points, including 15 in the second half when Groton pulled away. Wheeting scored nine points in the third quarter alone when Groton outscored Roncalli 12-6. "When we didn't have Jenn in there to counter-balance it, Lauren established herself as a post presence and we just didn't have anything to counter that," Sievers said. While Wheeting was a problem for the Roncalli defense, a bigger dilemma was that the Cavaliers could not connect on offense. "We just put so much pressure on our defense because we couldn't score," Sievers said. "Groton shoots the ball well. You know that when they shoot the ball well, you have to counter and make some of those shots and we just weren't able to. In the game of basketball, you have to be able to make some shots." If there was a bright spot for the Cavaliers it was the fact that they were stellar from the free-throw line. Roncalli made all 10 of its charity tosses. The victory was a crucial one for Groton, 9-4 overall. The Tigers are in the thick of the NEC race and improved to 5-1 in league play. Milbank leads the conference with a 6-0 mark and Webster checks in at 4-1. Groton has conference games remaining with both of those squads. Jess Tennant led the Cavaliers with eight points, including a pair of three-point field goals. Things do not get any easier for Roncalli, 4-8 on the season. The Cavaliers travel to Warner on Saturday to face the unbeaten Monarchs. "It's another quality team," Sievers said. "Our team has a choice. We need to choose to get back on the court and make things better." ABERDEEN RONCALLI: Jess Tennant 2 2-2 8, Jackee Karst 1 2-2 4, Jenn Thares 1 3-3 5, Katie Heller 0 2-2 2, Haley Zerr 2 1-1 5. Totals 6-44 10-10 24. GROTON: Morgan Schuring 2 0-0 6, Megan Brandlee 1 0-0 2, Jen Steen 2 0-0 4, Racine Schuring 1 0-0 3, Samantha Bunke 1 0-0 3, Jessica Hoscheid 2 0-0 6, Lauren Wheeting 10 3-4 23. Totals 19 3-4 47. Aberdeen Roncalli (4-8) 5 16 22 24 Groton (9-4) 13 24 36 47 3-point field goals - Tennant 2, M. Schuring 2, R. Schuring, Bunke, Hoscheid 2. Total fouls - Aberdeen Roncalli 8; Groton 10. Rebounds - Aberdeen Roncalli 25 (Zerr 7); Groton 26 (Bunke 6, R. Schuring 6, Wheeting 6). Turnovers - Aberdeen Roncalli 13; Groton 10. B Game - Groton 23-13. C Game - Groton 21-19.